Includes bibliographical references (pages 155-182) and index
1. Introduction: The Mechanical and the Organic -- 2. The Mechanical World View: The Clockwork Universe -- 3. Mechanical Organisms: From Automats to Clockwork Humans -- 4. The Organic World View: From Magic to Vitalism -- 5. Organic Machines: Technology as Plant -- 6. The Emergence of the Bionic World View -- 7. The Vital Machine -- 8. Conclusion: Ethics in the Age of the Vital Machine